At a time of increasing publicity and debate around public art, it is crucial we constantly reflect and question our methods and understandings of why and how public art is being commissioned. ixia, the public art think tank, has begun commissioning new critical texts which are available here. These thought provoking essays, specially commissioned by ixia and independent practitioner Sophie Hope, tackle issues close to the heart of the writers and aim to raise debate and stimulate discussion among you, the readers.

1. In his essay, A New Year Provocation for 2008, artist David Patten clears up some confusion over the commissioning of artists in the development process, arguing that keeping artists at one remove from the development process, sheltered by agencies and curators, can add to the sense of unease and mystery over the artist’s role.
2. Freee are artists Mel Jordan, Andy Hewitt and Dave Beech. Through a written dialogue, Maggie, Maggie, Maggie, Out, Out, Out! they introduce their work as a mode of distributing, activating and declaring ideas and challenge us to rethink the role and possibilities of passive, polite spaces that artists continue to quietly and predictably occupy, whether that is in ‘public space’ and/or in a ‘gallery’.
3. Artist Loraine Leeson has worked with communities for over 20 years. In her article, Art with Communities: Reflections on a changing landscape, she reflects on how her practice has had to shift in relation to the changing politics from the 70s to the present day – what have we learnt and what can we leave behind?
4. Matthew Cornford's text, Takin' it to the Streets, looks at unofficial public realm projects, through the recent work of Mark McGowan, Can Altay and Sam Curtis and addresses the value of working independently and without official support. Matthew is a practising artist and works for the School of Art and Design, University of Wolverhampton.

ixia is looking for your responses to these texts! If there is something which you would like to say, please email your thoughts to info@ixia-info.com and title your email ‘Website feedback’. We will add your comments to a new ‘Questions & Comments’ page on the website and we hope that this will generate discussion and give you the opportunity to share your thoughts on public art with others. If you would prefer us not to put your comments online, or would like us to pass your comments on to the author but not to add them to the online discussion, then please indicate this on your e-mail.

We want to expand this collection of texts. If you are interested in writing for us, please email info@ixia-info.com or call us on: 0121 753 5301. Send us a short paragraph about yourself and the topic which you would like to write about.